"I want to see a free society in Western Sahara – where we are able to decide for ourselves how we will share our natural resources with the world, and where the economic benefits will come to my people, not to the settlers who come with the support of the King and the Moroccan army to take our territory and property", leading Western Sahara human rights activist Aminatou Haidar stressed in a letter to the European Parliamentarians today.

The human rights situation in Western Sahara is well described in Charles Tannock’s recent report referring to the Sahel region and Western Sahara , which was approved on 22nd of October, 2013 by the European Parliament. His report recognize that "Moroccan officials have detained individuals on political grounds, subjected Sahrawi inmates to torture and rape, kidnapped and abandoned protesters in the desert in order to intimidate them, and deliberately and frequently targeted pro-independence advocates, including in their homes".

Your Parliament also described forced disappearances and unfair trials, and called for the immediate release of all Saharawi political prisoners. For the human rights defenders of the occupied Western Sahara, this was a tremendously positive signal from the representatives of European democracy.

I am myself a former political prisoner, and have suffered torture at the hands of Moroccan forces. In many quarters approval of the new Protocol under the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement would be seen as a prize for Morocco, not just financially, but in terms of its claims over the territory. Approval, without clauses to exclude the territorial waters of Western Sahara, would send a signal that the European Union is willing to put its commercial interests before its concerns for human rights.

But now you have another choice to make. The new Protocol under the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement, which will be put to the vote on 10 December, has the weakest human rights provisions of any fisheries agreement proposed by the EU in recent years.

I want to see a free society in Western Sahara – where we are able to decide for ourselves how we will share our natural resources with the world, and where the economic benefits will come to my people, not to the settlers who come with the support of the King and the Moroccan army to take our territory and property.

You have a chance now to support democracy, human rights and freedom. I hope, therefore, that you will be willing to vote against this Agreement when it is presented to the Parliament.

Morocco occupies the major part of its neighbouring country, Western Sahara. Entering into business deals with Moroccan companies or authorities in the occupied territories gives an impression of political legitimacy to the occupation. It also gives job opportunities to Moroccan settlers and income to the Moroccan government. Western Sahara Resource Watch demands foreign companies leave Western Sahara until a solution to the conflict is found.

It's not easy keeping up with all the different legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara. For the sake of clarity, here's an overview of the five different cases at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Leading activists from Western Sahara are condemned to sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment in connection to a mass protest in 2010 denouncing the Saharawi people’s social and economic marginalization in their occupied land; the Gdeim Izik protest camp.

At COP22, beware of what you read about Morocco’s renewable energy efforts. An increasing part of the projects take place in the occupied territory of Western Sahara and is used for mineral plunder, new WSRW report documents.